NOAA Probes Dead Fin Whale Found on Norwegian Joy Near Sitka
Passengers began disembarking about two hours late. Norwegian extended the Sitka call by one hour, and crews towed the carcass away from the cruise terminal.
An endangered fin whale was found dead on Norwegian Joy’s bulbous bow as the cruise ship approached Sitka, Alaska, on Sept. 17, 2026, delaying the vessel’s port call. NOAA Fisheries is assessing the death and has not determined whether contact with the ship killed the whale or the animal was already dead.
It was the second time since June that a cruise ship arrived at an Alaska port with a dead fin whale on its bow. Preliminary findings in the earlier case determined that a pregnant whale died from injuries consistent with a vessel strike.
NOAA assesses the death as the Sitka call runs late
Norwegian Joy was scheduled to arrive in Sitka at 8 a.m., but passengers did not begin disembarking until about 10 a.m. Norwegian Cruise Line extended the port call by one hour, moving the ship’s departure from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The incident occurred during the ship’s penultimate Alaska cruise of the 2026 season, a 10-night round trip from Seattle that departed Sept. 11.
Crews removed the whale from the bow and towed the carcass away from the cruise terminal. Passenger Gretchen McLaurin told KIRO Newsradio that an onboard announcement was made at approximately 7:45 a.m. while the ship was approaching its berth. She said the whale was belly-up during the removal and had a pink area on its lower body, but wildlife officials have not released findings about any visible injuries.
NOAA Fisheries dispatched its Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network, the statewide response network for dead, injured, stranded or entangled marine mammals. “We don’t have any of that information yet,” said Jennifer Angelo, a spokesperson for the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region, when asked whether the whale died from a vessel strike or was dead before the encounter.
“We are deeply saddened by this situation, and we are cooperating with the appropriate authorities and any relevant scientific and wildlife experts,” Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement.
A second fin whale found on a bow since June
Royal Caribbean International’s Ovation of the Seas arrived in Seward on June 19 with another dead fin whale on its bow. The Alaska SeaLife Center said a preliminary necropsy found blunt-force trauma to the animal’s jaw, spine and ribs consistent with a vessel strike. Investigators also found that the whale was pregnant.
After that case, the Center for Biological Diversity asked Royal Caribbean Group to reduce vessel speeds in known whale habitat. Royal Caribbean had not publicly responded to the request.
Fin whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and NOAA Fisheries also enforces marine mammal protections under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The species feeds in Alaska during summer before migrating to subtropical waters to give birth in winter. Fin whales are the world’s second-largest whale species after blue whales, and NOAA identifies vessel strikes as their main current threat.
No further itinerary modifications had been confirmed following the Sitka delay. Norwegian Joy remained scheduled to visit Skagway on Sept. 18 and Victoria, British Columbia, on Sept. 20 before returning to Seattle on Sept. 21.
